Multiunit electron discharge tube



Deco 19, 1950 P. M. G. TCULON 2,534,688

MULTIUNIT ELECTRON DISCHARGE TUBE Filed July 25, 1947 ATTU RN EYS Patented Dec. 19, 1 950 MULTIUNIT ELECTRON DISCHARGE TUBE Pierre Marie Gabriel Toulon, Neuilly-sur-Seine,

France, assignor to Products & Licensing Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 25, 1947; Serial No. 763,663

In France March 11, 1943 Section 1', Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires March 11, 1963 4 Claims. (Cl. 250-275) The present invention relates to gas filled thermionic tubes and its object is to providea tube of this kind including inside a single ,bulb filled with an ionized gas, a plurality of discharge circuits independent of one another and without reaction upon one another so that the mean potentials of these circuits, each considered as a separate unit may be diiierent from one another.

My invention consists in preventing ionisation around one or several of the cathodes provided in the bulb from spreading beyond certain limits, so as to permit the independent operation, without reciprocal action of the respective cathodes and of the corresponding control systems.

According to my invention, this localizing of ionisation is obtained by interposing between two adjacent circuits one or several supplementary grids or the like kept at a negative potential such that they are more negative than the most negative of the electrodes of the immediately adjacent circuits.

My invention is particularly adapted to the obtainment, in a single bulb, of a thermionic amplifier including several stages in cascade. It

permits also of obtaining in a single bulb several thermionic rectifiers having no common cathode. It further applies to the constitution of luminescent tubes and of cathode beam tubes, having a plurality of cathodes. The fact that the discharge circuits are independent permits of establishing between them, on the outside of the tube, any connections as may be found useful for the desired operation.

My invention is particularly useful for producing in a single bulb the arrangements described in my French Patents Nos. 840,915 of January 5, 1938, and 860,481 of June 28, 1939, and their additions.

The single figure of the appended drawings given merely by way of nonlimitative example, discloses the application of the invention to the construction of a multiple rectifier, in a single bulb filled with helium or mercury vapour, such a bulb is particularly interesting for ensuring the flow of the charge stored up in the various condensers of a system of static distribution of the impulses according to the above cited patents.

On a steatite rod l, indirectly heated by a tungsten pin, through which flows an electric current, I provide independent nickel cylinders covered with baryum oxide 2, 2', 2" which will 2 between each cathode and the corresponding anode, in each of the circuits.

For this purpose, in the example shown, the first circuit includes a grid 4, the second circuit two grids 4' and 4" and the last circuit one grid 4", these various grids being connected with the common anode.

Furthermore, I provide two auxiliary grids 5 and 5 between the first and second circuits and 5" and 5" between the second and third circuits.

In order to create in space 4-5 an electrostatic field producing the desired localizing of ionisa-.

tion, concerning the first circuit (rectifier 2-3) grid 5 is negatively biased by means of battery I and resistance 6, to be more negative than any of the electrodes 2, 3 and 4.

In an analogous manner, for the second circuit (rectifier 2'-3') grids 5' and 5" are negatively biased by means of battery 1' and resistances 6' and 6", to be more negative than the most negagive of the corresponding electrodes 2', 3, 4 and Finally, for the last circuit (rectifier 23"), grid 5" is negatively biased by means of battery 1" and resistance 6", to be more negative than any of the electrodes 2", 3", 4".

Thus, owing to these supplementary grids which supply a suitable electrostatic field, I prevent ionising from going from one cathode to the other; every cathode can therefore work independently, although all of them are contained in a single vessel, which greatly simplifies the construction of the tube.

What I claim is:

l. A gaseous conduction discharge system, comprising, a gas filled container, a first tube section comprising a first anode and a first cathode, a second tube section comprising a second anode and a second cathode, all located Within said container, at least one further electrode interposed between said first anode and cathode and said second anode and cathode, each of said anodes and each of said cathodes having a predetermined potential, and means for establishing a further potential for said further electrode, said further potential more negative than the most negative predetermined potential of any of said anodes and cathodes.

2. A gaseous conduction discharge system, comprising, a gas filled chamber, a pair of adjacent gaseous discharge units within said chamber, each of said units comprising an anode and a cathode, means for maintaining said anodes at positive potential with respect to said cathodes, a pair of grids connected between said um'ts, means con- 3 meeting said grids to said anodes, at least one further grid interposed between the grids of said pair of grids, and means for maintaining said at least one further grid biased negatively with respect to said cathodes.

3. A gaseous conduction discharge system, comprising, a gas filled container, a plurality of mutually adjacent gaseous discharge units within said container, each of said units comprising an anode and a cathode, means for maintaining said anodes at a higher potential than said cathodes, means for electrically isolating said units from one another, said last means comprising an electrode interposed between each pair of said units and means for maintaining said electrode at a potential negative with respect to the most negative cathode of each pair of adjacent units.

4. A gaseous discharge conduction system comprising, a gas filled container, a first anode and cathode, a second anode and cathode, and means interposed between said first anode and cathode and said second anode and cathode for preventing ionization occurring between said first anode and cathode from spreading to said second anode and cathode, said last means comprising a shield elec trode interposed between said first anode and cathode and said second anode and cathode, and means for maintaining said shield electrode electro-negative with respect to said cathodes.

PIERRE MARIE GABRIEL TOULON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,905,692 Edwards et a1 Apr. 25, 1933 1,916,408 Bol July 4, 1933 1,998,299 Winter, Jr Apr. 16, 1935 2,061,254 Rockwood, Jr. Nov. 17, 1936 2,085,094 Goodall June 29, 1937 2,094,470 Roberts Sept. 28, 1937 2,219,590 Fracker Oct. 29, 1940 

